BOI, PEZA investments surge by 100% to P10.3B in Jan-Feb

Investments registered with the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) surged by more than 100 percent to P10.3 billion in the first two months of this year from P5 billion in the same period last year.

Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II yesterday called the strong investment inflow for the two-month period is "very encouraging."

"The inflow is a testament to the progress we have made in attracting foreign and local investors despite the geopolitical situation and the tense situation in Mindanao," Roxas stressed.

The investment figure for the first two months of the year, Roxas further noted, "is a good start and shows that businessmen are investing once more."

Based on BOI data, the latest investment figure is expected to generate nearly 13,000 new jobs.

Of the P10.3 billion in new investments for the first two months of the year, foreign investments accounted for P5.66 billion or a sharp 131 percent increase over last year’s level.

Of the combined investment figure, BOI-registered investment amounted to P7.2 billion or a 74.27 percent increase from the P4.13 billion recorded in the same period last year.

The bulk of this amount went to Western Visayas and Southern Mindanao.

A British group is investing P4.56 billion for a renewable energy generation facility in Victorias, Negros Occidental, while a Japanese investor is putting up a P280 million granite wall panel in Digos City, Davao del Sur.

Domestic investments, on the other hand, include Genpack Corp.’s P1.04 billion tin can manufacturing project in General Santos City, also in Southern Mindanao and a P1.3 billion plastic factory in Modern Packaging Films Inc. of the Chemphil Group in Bataan.